Arsenic: The Assassin's Dream Weapon

For a lot of folks in the modern day, knitting is more a relaxing hobby than a household necessity. However, not too long ago, this needlecraft was a genuine -- and effective! -- tool for spies. In the first part of this two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max dive into the fascinatin ...  Show more

Language is beautiful and, in many cases, continually evolving. As a result, we end up with hundreds of strange idioms and figures of speech that we use on a daily basis, with little to no understanding of what they originally meant. Join Ben and Noel with special guests Frank Mu ...  Show more

“The king of poisons,” “the poison of kings,” “inheritance powder.” As its various nicknames suggest, arsenic’s notoriety largely stems from its use as a murder weapon. But as we explore in this episode, the world of arsenic is much, much bigger than just as a plot device in a ...

In October 1347, a ghostly fleet of trading ships docks at a port in Sicily. The crew members – dead already, or well on their way – bear bubonic plague. The ‘Great Pestilence’ will ravage the populations of three continents over the next decade. What changes to society will resu ...  Show more

The Marquise de Brinvilliers is a subject of operas and stories, a larger-than-life villainess who murdered her family with poison and almost got away with it. Almost.

What's the difference between an assassination and a garden-variety murder? Where does the term 'assassin' actually come from, and how did an obscure sect founded almost one thousand years ago fundamentally change the course of history as we know it? Tune in for the answers to ...